IIM Lucknow to set up climate change centre

Lucknow, April 4 (IANS) A centre for climate change dedicated to providing information to industries will come up at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) here. IIM-Lucknow director Devi Singh said Thursday the decision follows a two-day seminar on climate change held at the institute last week.

Singh has entrusted the responsibility of setting up the centre to the institute’s Agriculture Management Centre chief Sushil Kumar.

“We will begin with an awareness campaign on the impact of global warming and then undertake courses to spread awareness about the need for industries to realise the importance of carbon credits,” Kumar told IANS.

“With widespread melting of glaciers, rising global mean sea level and, above all, the general rise in average air, sea and ocean temperatures, global warming is an undisputed reality. It is time that we woke up to it in India,” he said.

“Our industries need to understand how they could benefit by investing time and money in the carbon markets. We need to educate ourselves about environmental management strategies that could be used to gain long-term competitive advantage,” Kumar added.

Stressing the need for reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions to arrest climate change, he said: “The proposed centre will deliberate on the opportunities and challenges to the Indian industry in the changed business paradigm and suggest long-term business strategies. This will also help in aligning environmental, social, and economic goals of the industry.”

“The earth’s average surface temperature has gone up by 0.76 degrees Celsius since 1850. Most of the warming that has taken place over the past 50 years is attributable to enhanced human activity including burning of fossil fuel, agriculture and, above all, deforestation,” Kumar said.